BBC Two is extending the run of serial killer drama The Fall. The channel has picked up the Gillian Anderson fronted series for a five episode third season, TVWise has learned.

From Allan Cubitt and Artists Studio, The Fall stars Anderson as DSI Stella Gibson, an officer from London’s Metropolitan Police Service who is called in to assist the PSNI investigate a string of serial killing in Belfast. The executive producers are Gillian Anderson, Stephen Wright, Allan Cubitt, Patrick Irwin and Justin Thomson-Glover.

While the first season of The Fall quickly established itself as a ratings hit in 2013, ranking as BBC Two’s highest rated drama series in more than a decade, the ratings have slipped slightly for its second season. Across its first five episodes, The Fall has been averaging an overnight audience of 2.2 million viewers, down 33% on the season one average overnight (3.3 million viewers).

Despite that ratings decline (which have been largely offset in consolidated ratings, with an average audience of 3.3 million), the show has always been expected to proceed past its second season. Ratings aside, the critical acclaim and international buzz for The Fall were key factors in the renewal decision, as was the strong support the show has internally, especially from the BBC’s Controller of Drama Commissioning Ben Stephenson.

BBC Two has ordered a further five episodes for the show’s third season, which will once again be shot on location in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Both Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan will be returning as the series co-leads in the third season, which will pick up as the complex relationship between Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson and Paul Spector intensifies and the story of the investigation into the murders becomes more complex and intricate.

The story is far from over”, said the BBC’s Controller of Drama Commissioning Ben Stephenson, who commissioned the third season alongside BBC Two Controller Kim Shillinglaw. “Allan has known the end game from the beginning – the cat and mouse game between Gillian and Jamie has one last act to play out. Who will win?”

“I want programme makers to come to BBC Two to do their most distinctive and signature work and I’m therefore delighted that Allan Cubitt and the team are bringing The Fall back for a third series, demonstrating once again the continued strength of drama on the channel”, commented BBC Two Controller Kim Shillinglaw.

“We’d like to thank the BBC: Kim Shillinglaw, Ben Stephenson and Stephen Wright; for showing such confidence in the drama we have created with Artists Studio”, added series creator Allan Cubitt. “The cliffhanger ending of season two was conceived in the hope of further exploring the characters and the themes that are at the heart of The Fall. We’re grateful to be given this opportunity by the BBC.”

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